Bush Climate Announcement on Crash Course with Scientific Reality
Phoenix.
Arizona—President Bush today announced a new goal of stopping the
growth of U.S. global warming emissions by 2025. Yet, in 2007, the
United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concluded that
global emissions must peak no later than 2015 to prevent catastrophic
effects of global warming.
“Global warming is already
transforming the world. Last month, global warming caused a chunk of
Antarctic ice about seven times the size of Manhattan to suddenly
collapse. President Bush’s plan is on a crash course with scientific
reality. The time for action is today – not 20 years from now,” said
Erik Magnuson, Program Associate for Environment Arizona.
According
to the Department of Energy, U.S. energy-related carbon dioxide
emissions are projected to increase by more than 16% above 2006 levels
by 2025.
To protect future generations from the worst effects of
global warming, such as drier conditions threatening our water
supplies, more intense forest fires, massive rise in sea levels and the
extinction of many species worldwide, the most recent science indicates
that the United States must halt increases in its global warming
emissions immediately, cut its emissions by at least 15 to 20 percent
by 2020, and slash its emissions by at least 80 percent by 2050.
“To
solve this urgent problem, America must invest in a clean energy future
with an emphasis on energy efficient homes and buildings and solar,
wind, and other renewable energy sources,” added Magnuson. “Instead of
focusing on the cleanest, quickest, and cheapest solutions, the
President is focused on expensive and dangerous technologies, like
nuclear power,” He concluded.
